A We were at a friend's wedding back in 2001. Gnasty Gnik and I were asked to play some nice music for the wedding guests. We started talking with drummer Justin Crooks, who happened to be there playing with the Jive Turkeys.

We were all fans of the Caribbean beat, and somehow that merged with our Midwestern heavy-metal sensibilities. That's when the apocalypsic visions began.

Q Why wear white masks onstage?

A They're a metaphor for the alienation and absurdity that overwhelm the individual in contemporary consumer culture -- just kidding. Actually, someone told us women dig dudes in expressionless white masks. But after nine years of this, we're beginning to have doubts.

Q What's the best quote you've heard about the band?

A Kevin Elliott of Columbus Alive! said we sounded like "a cruise ship headed straight to hell." And someone else told us, "My 2-year-old loves you guys." Those pretty much sum it up.

Q Why should someone go to an Apocalypso show?

A The end is near. The party is now.

-- Kevin Joy kjoy@dispatch.com

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